[2022 National Audit] Ruling and Opposition Clash Over 'Noranbongtu Law'... Employment Minister Says "Considering Alternative Approaches"

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik (left) is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee's audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City on the morning of the 5th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The ruling and opposition parties clashed over the 'Yellow Envelope Act' during the Ministry of Employment and Labor's parliamentary audit. Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik expressed a practically negative stance, stating, "This is not something that can be resolved by just touching one or two articles of the Labor Union Act."

At the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held on the 5th at the Government Complex Sejong, Ji Seong-ho, a member of the People Power Party, said, "This year, illegal strikes occurred at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hite Jinro, causing enormous economic losses due to labor losses during such illegal strikes," adding, "Compensation lawsuits are necessary to protect constitutional private property."

On the other hand, Jeon Yong-gi of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea rebutted, saying, "The Yellow Envelope Act aims to guarantee the rights of subcontracted workers," and "I do not understand why there is so much debate over the Yellow Envelope Act, which can be called a law guaranteeing workers' rights."

The Yellow Envelope Act refers to the proposed amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act, which restrict claims for damages and provisional seizures against workers who go on strike. Legislative discussions were ignited following the strike by subcontracted workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering this year.

While the Democratic Party is promoting the Yellow Envelope Act as one of the seven major legislative tasks in this regular session of the National Assembly, the business community, including the Korea Employers Federation, and the ruling party oppose it, arguing that illegal strikes could increase.

According to data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor the previous day, from 2009 to August of this year, there have been 151 lawsuits (covering 73 locations) filed against labor unions for damages over approximately 14 years, amounting to 275.27 billion KRW. The courts accepted 49 cases, totaling 35.01 billion KRW.

Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Seong-jun pointed out, "Can labor unions or workers bear such astronomical amounts?" and emphasized, "There is an urgent need to reach a broad social consensus to address issues related to damage lawsuits and provisional seizures."

However, when asked about his stance on the Yellow Envelope Act, Minister Lee Jeong-sik responded, "Anyone responsible for illegal acts cannot escape accountability," adding, "I do not believe that touching parts of the Labor Union Act will resolve the issue." This is interpreted as a practically opposing position.

The minister stated, "It is the government's role to find ways for subcontracted workers to resolve survival issues and urgent demands while abiding by the law," and added, "I do not think it is right to shake the foundation of the legal system for the sake of a few, so we are considering other approaches."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.